Luke Chapter 13

vs 25

The door is not open forever. Eventually, time will end for those people who took their sweet time thinking about whether they really wanted to obey God or not. God is very patient and merciful and gracious, but eventually there is going to be a time where the door shuts.

vs 26

And the people will plead with God that they had some sort of relationship with him, that in their own way they sought him out.

vs 27

But God is not a friend from a party. He is God. He is the master of the house. It's his house! And if he says that you've got to come in the door a certain way, you can't argue with him or try and match it with how you'd like the entrance to the house to be. It's his way, or the highway.

vs 28

Those men of faith will watch you thrown out of heaven. And there will not be a sadder time for any human than that time. True eternal separation from God is just the pits.

vs 29

But not everyone is in that negative situation. In fact, people you never expected - from the four corners of the world, will be filing in politely like Englshmen to take their place in heaven. They might not even know who Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are. Which is what stings even more - when you knew about God so easily and readily, but chose to ignore him anyway.

vs 30

In this case, I am thinking, that this might almost be a reference to the coming of gentiles into the kingdom! The Jews - first with the knowledge of God, first in the old covenant, are now going to be the last, because of their stubbornness. But the gentiles - the last to hear, the last to believe, the last to even have opportunity, are the ones to be first, because of their faith despite these obstacles.

vs 31

Doesn't sound like a message you'd get from your enemies, does it? Were they lying to him, or were there some Pharisees that actually respected him? I think the latter. Not all Pharisees were evil.

vs 32

It seems odd that these might be a reference to the three days of death of Christ. Perhaps it is. To think that Christ's goal is death, after all, is a bit of a misnomer - because surely his goal is resurrection! And I guess it could be read that the other days of death are for the healing of all (but the casting out of demons?). Either that, or Jesus is only 3 days from Jerusalem. Which is a lot less exciting and theological, but it does fit with the situation.